CM Jagan urges FM Sitharaman to help AP with release of pending funds

VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy flew into the national capital on Friday to participate in the NITI Aayog governing council meeting on Saturday and hold discussions with central leaders.

The CM would also participate in the inauguration of the new parliament building by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday.

YSR Congress MPs including Midhun Reddy and other senior leaders welcomed CM Jagan at Delhi airport in the evening. During the day, Jagan Reddy did the distribution of  house sites titles to the poor in Amaravati and took off for Delhi from Gannavaram airport at 3 pm.

After arrival in Delhi, the chief minister met Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman i. The CM presented a replica of Tirupati Venkateswara Swamy and the temple prasadam and honoured the FM with a shawl. The CM discussed some of AP’s issues with the finance minister and urged her to clear the pending requests.

The meeting lasted 40 minutes and the CM thanked the Union Government for the assistance it was providing to AP. Jagan Reddy said the state government was facing problems in borrowing beyond the limit set during 2016-2019. He sought a relaxation in this respect.

The chief minister mentioned the issue of electricity supplied by AP GENCO to Telangana DISCOMS and said the arrears were of Rs 6,756.92 crore after the division of the state. The state had already brought this matter to the attention of the Centre repeatedly in the past, he said.

“Urgent release of this money is very necessary in the present situation wherein APGENCO is facing serious financial problems.

He reminded the Union minister that the central government has included in the budget a provision for special assistance to states on the capital investment they made. The AP government has already taken many revolutionary steps in the fields of education and medicare and spent Rs 6,000 crore on these counts, he said.

He said the first phase of Nadu-Nedu was completed in 15717 government schools. IFP panels are also being made available from the sixth class in these schools.

Jagan explained to the FM that in the health sector,  from village clinics to teaching hospitals, several works have been undertaken under Nadu-Nedu and Rs 4,000 crore was spent.  “These programmes will shape the future of the state and the expenditure incurred for these should be treated as capital investment. The special assistance provision should be applied for AP in this respect,” he stressed.